Home made dried tomatoes with arugula & garlic #170

Home made dried tomatoes is a great way to serve tomatoes and I think they are good enough to serve as simple as this, just the tomatoes with a few leafs of arugula and the oil and garlic from the drying. The technique for this is simple, all you need are good tomatoes, some herbs and garlic, olive oil and a few hours to spare.

What you are doing is simply to dry the tomatoes in your oven until they are about half their original size, this will concentrate the flavors and make taste amazing, however the result is very dependent on what tomato you will choose, you don´t have to spend a fortune but there is one simple rule, if the tomato is not good before drying it won´t be afterwards.

Home made dried tomatoes with arugula & garlic

tomatoes
some herbs, I used some chives, parsley and basil
garlic
olive oil
salt, black pepper
arugula

Bring water to the boil, prepare a big bowl packed with ice and water beside to boiling water. Cut through the skin of the tomatoes on the end sides, this will help the skin open up when you boil it. Add the tomatoes to the boiling water and leave in the water for about 10-20 seconds and then lift out and chill them immediately in the ice water. If you are making a big batch then boil them in batches, otherwise the tomatoes will chill the water and either the skin won´t come off or the cooking will take too long and make the tomato soggy.

Peel the tomatoes and cut in half and put on a tray with the skin side up, drizzle with olive oil, add sliced garlic and a few leafs of chopped herbs. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for drying at 110°C / 230 F. The drying will take anywhere between 4-8 hours, check them every hour and take them out when you like them. Add the tomatoes to a plate and add a few leafs of arugula and some olive oil and garlic from the drying.

This can of course be prepared one or two days ahead of serving, make sure you gently warm them in oven before serving. And I think it goes without saying that this is also great for all tomato dishes like a Caprese salad, on home made pizzas or as a side dish with some grated Parmesan cheese! Good luck!

Spinach salad with capers, Parmesan cheese and radishes #169

This is one of my absolute favorite salads, mostly because the first time I made it was using vegetables that I grew myself. After living in an apartment for years and not having the luxury of being blessed with a garden me and my family decided to move to a house in a smaller town. This blessed us with a garden and it was one of the first things I started working on (even though there were load of other more important things to do) and about a month or two later i pulled my first radishes and baby spinach out of the land and went for a treasure hunt in my fridge. 

I came across some left over capers and I always try to have some Parmesan at hand so I combined it all and dressed it with only olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. One of the greatest salads I´ve ever come up with. And it´s not only memories that make it great, I´ve done many times after using both home grown and bought ingredients and it great every time, so go make some!

Spinach salad with capers, Parmesan cheese and radishes

baby leaf spinach

radishes

Parmesan cheese

capers

olive oil

red wine vinegar

salt

pepper

Rinse the spinach and radishes, slice the radishes as thin as you can. Dress the spinach with olive oil and vinegar. Plate the spinach and put the sliced radishes on top. Shave some Parmesan on top and add the capers. Season with salt and pepper and add a few extra drops of olive oil.

10 Easter appetizers!

Easter is up and what better way to spend it but eating loads of delicious food. I´ve put together some of my spring and easter favorites into this great collection, after each photo there is a link where you will find the recipe, now go cook and have a great easter!



Salmon with cucumber, dill and wasabi



Crayfish salad with dill on toast



Grilled asparagus with Parmesan cheese



Smashed peas with mint on toast



Soused herring with egg, chives and potatoes



Fennel, shrimp, carrot and orange salad with dill



Soft boiled egg with broad beans and shrimp



Gazpacho salad



Lamb with goat cheese and herbs



Caesar salad

Crostini with Parma ham, sun dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese #168

Easy to do, easy to enjoy, making crostini is a good way of serving great snacks that everyone will appreciate without spending the entire day in the kitchen. This is simply what it looks like, roasted slices of bread with Parma ham, good Italian sun dried tomatoes and some Parmesan cheese.

Crostini with Parma ham, sun dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese

baguette
Parma ham
Parmesan cheese
sun dried tomatoes
olive oil

Slice the baguette and roast the slices in olive oil until golden and crisp. Add Parma ham, a piece of tomato and grate some Parmesan on top. Serve!

Baked parsnips with garlic and herb butter #166

This is a great snack or a perfect side to meat or fish. I use small parsnips and keep the skin on, just make sure you clean them so there´s no dirt left. Cut them and season with salt, pepper and garlic. I then wrap everything in tin foil and bake it in the oven. This is also great to cook on a grill and serve as an individual side to grilled meat. The herb butter is just that, butter and herbs and some olive oil mixed together.

Baked parsnips with garlic and herb butter

parsnips
garlic
salt, pepper
olive oil
mixed herbs, use your favorites I used parsley, chives, rosemary and sage
bay leaf

Wash and cut the parsnips in smaller pieces, dress with olive oil, salt, pepper, slice garlic and a bay leaf. Wrap the parsnips in tin foil and bake in the oven on medium heat until done, this took me about half an hour.

Mix the butter with the herbs and some olive oil. Once the parsnips are done remove from the oven and open the package, add a spoonful of herb butter and serve.